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The NFL has struck a deal with Twitter to live-stream, for free, the 2016 season of Thursday Night Football online through the social media site.

For the NFL, this is a push to reach the growing cohort of people who might not have a cable subscription. For Twitter, it might prove to be a major win in its ongoing challenge to attract and keep new users.

It's unclear what exactly the game stream will look like — we know the games will be presented on twitter.com and the Twitter mobile app, but Twitter isn't sharing any further specifics for now. Other companies that were considered in competition for the streaming rights included Facebook, Yahoo, Amazon and Verizon.


The NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell, 

 Tuesday on Twitter, though they didn't disclose the price tag or other terms of the deal. The deal is rumored to be around $10 million to $15 million.


NFL spokesman Alex Riethmiller confirms to NPR that Twitter's bid was, in fact, not the highest that the league received. But he says the NFL liked Twitter's reach and demographics as well as how the platform complemented broadcasts, adding that "we have worked with them for several years with success."

, the NFL has streamed some games in the past, but this marks a first season-long streaming deal in addition to its regular TV and cable broadcasts:


, Goodell also pointed out that the agreement provides "additional reach for those brands advertising with our broadcast partners."


Twitter also has a former NFL executive in its ranks: The company's chief financial officer previously held the same position at the league.

, in essence, "the NFL has constructed a deal where it gets more money for the same games it has already sold a couple of times," as the streaming will be in addition to the NFL's existing deals with mobile provider Verizon and with broadcasters. Re/Code adds:



Yahoo paid about $20 million for the rights to show an NFL game played in London in October, 

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Alina Selyukh

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The NFL hopes to reach a broader audience, including those who don't have cable, while Twitter is looking to attract and keep new users.

Twitter wins NFL deal to stream 2016 Thursday Night Football

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